


another morning

by oceandawn



Series: ballum week 2020 [1]
Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24614344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oceandawn/pseuds/oceandawn
Summary: callum forgot to turn his alarm off. doesn't mean they need to get out of bed, though./ ballum week day 1 — weekend scene
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Series: ballum week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1779517
Comments: 10
Kudos: 101





	another morning

**Author's Note:**

> omg i had no time to prepare for ballum week and i struggled for ideas so im so sorry if i dont meet each day or these ideas are bland and boring but.... have some fluff :'(

_ "Shut that thing off,"  _ Ben mumbles, face moving into his pillow. Callum's weight is heavy beside him, warm, but the echo of his phone alarm is ruining the moment.

And it's even worse when Callum doesn't stir, simply breathing deep before stilling again. Ben turns his head ever so slightly to see him, and he almost laughs at how this is playing out in front of him. 

Callum, fast asleep, face of an angel as he always does, completely ignoring the wild and heavy, irritating alarm in the favour of sleep. It's a metaphor, really, how much Callum is sweet, mellow, absorbs the world a second at a time compared to Ben.

But that doesn't mean Ben can admire him like this, not when a constant ring of bells is ruining the otherwise private moment.

He grunts, pushing himself up, careful but  _ not so careful  _ in order not to wake Callum. Ben reaches for his phone over him, manages to swipe the  _ dismiss  _ option before reaching his hand back.

Sighing with the relief of peace and quiet, Ben takes a moment for the world around him to slow again. He moved too quick, just slightly, and now the twinge in his arm is paying for it.

Ben remains sitting up, sheets over his waist, and looks down to Callum still asleep as if nothing happened. It makes him smile, how much Ben now has  _ this,  _ a love to wake up to, to admire.

As fate would have it, the moment doesn't last long. Callum shifts onto his side, facing towards Ben, but his hands do that thing where he searches for him, searching for  _ Ben  _ in the pleasant hold of sleep.

When there's nothing but lingering warmth, Callum's eyes flicker open, a blurred empty pillow painted back to him at first light.

His fingers spread over the pillow, blinking a few times to make sure it's not a dreaded nightmare, but the twisting in his stomach of waking up alone is still very much there and alive.

_ "Ben?"  _ Callum whispers out, voice dry and cracked, the warmth of the dawn on his neck, but he'd rather have the love he held not too long ago instead.

Ben is warmth he can hold, breathe in, get lost in. Without it, Callum doesn't feel so whole.

"Hey," replies Ben, the distant, sad call of his name on Callum's tongue too much to process in early hours. "Callum,  _ babe." _

Callum turns to him, blinks, before reaching a hand out to sit on Ben's thigh.

"You alright?" he asks, sitting up himself. "Why are you up?"

Ben laughs, smiles as Callum continues small, affectionate movements of his hand up and down his thigh. Trust Callum to immediately worry something is wrong, when all that's happened is Ben looking at Callum as if he's the only star in the sky.

But in a way, Callum's need to know he's alright sets a deep, very real level of affection towards the man that always focuses entirely on him. No one else matters more right now than Ben, and his heart sings with it.

"Your alarm went off," the resulting expression on Callum's face makes Ben wish he never said anything. "It's alright. I planned to have the day in, anyway."

"Sorry," swallows Callum, head down for a moment. "If I knew we'd be spending time together last night, I would've remembered to switch it off."

Ben's cheeky smile makes Callum's chest flutter a little, "Ah, that good was I?"

"Don't start," Callum looks away, brushing the flat of his palm against one eye. "I was meant to go running."

"Least you still did some exercise."

_ "Ben—"  _ he starts, but Ben leans forward, tips Callum's head with a finger under his chin and presses a soft kiss to his lips. Then another for good measure.

The soft, healthy blush from both the warmth and Ben on Callum's cheeks is welcome, and Ben finds himself brushing his thumb across it.

"It's  _ fine,"  _ Ben repeats, kisses him again, lingers close after. "This weekend is completely, utterly ours."

Callum still looks guilty, and he squeezes near Ben's knee before letting go. He lifts the covers up, a clear invitation.

"That a promise?" 

Ben leans over him as Callum lays back, and he has this stunning, beaming grin that makes Ben feel like he's won a wonder of the world.

"If you promise to not set an alarm again? Ever?" 

Callum frowns, framing Ben's face with his hands as the sheets pool over them again. He soothes his hands towards Ben's shoulders, then to the middle of his back where his thumbs move over the bumps of his spine.

"Awful plan. I'd never wake up on time," Callum leans up a little to brush their noses together. "And with you? I'd never get chance to leave."

"That's the plan," winks Ben, brushing his hands into Callum's hair, pressing most of his weight over him. "No harm in that, right? I stay out of trouble and I get to spend an entire weekend with you. I call that a win."

"Flattery won't get me to stay," Callum's eyes move over his face. Ben will never get over how much Callum looks at him as if he's someone to remember, to treasure.

"Oh?" Ben tilts his head, pursing his lips a little. "What will?"

Callum shrugs, makes Ben wait for an answer. And the way Ben's face falls from mischief to sad puppy in seconds makes Callum take pity on him.  _ He does look cute, though. _

"Just you," he says, simply, whispered as if it's so easy to admit. It is.

"Oh,  _ Callum —"  _ Ben places a dramatic hand towards his chest. "Flattery will get you nowhere."

Callum tips his head back, rolls his eyes. "You're also irritating."

"Charming."

"You are!" Callum nudges him.

"I'm charming? Wow! You're really trying to win me over today!" Ben's smile is so carefree, and it's easy to forget that underneath all the concrete and mortar is a simple man that desires to be loved.

And he  _ is _ loved. He's also  _ in  _ love, like a lot.

_ "No!"  _ laughs Callum, not a drop of actual irritation in his voice. "You're irritating!"

"That so?"

Callum is about to laugh again because Ben won't drop this game they've found themselves in, but it dwindles when he feels Ben's fingertips place themselves at his ribs.

_ "No, nonono  _ Ben Mitchell don't you—" and the smiles they both wear are contagious as Ben tickles him, wrestling against Callum's attempts to stop him.  _ "Ben! Don't— stop! That tickles!" _

And the laughter continues, Ben joining in until Callum eventually gets hold of Ben's face, laughter still bubbling from between their lips as they brush. Then they're kissing, carefree, full of love that Callum never hoped or dreamed of ever finding.

Ben sinks into his side, hands framing his neck as Callum lifts the sheets over them.

They could have weekends like this again and again and they'd never tire of them. Ben wouldn't mind. Callum wouldn't either.

_ They  _ wouldn't mind forever.

**Author's Note:**

> twitter: oceandawns  
> tumblr: oceandawning


End file.
